We Build And We Break
by Wickedgal08
Summary: Set after 3x15. Elena tries to amend her relationships with three very damaged, and broken, individuals. This is how I feel the episode should've ended really, or at least how Elena should've acted at some point during the course of the latter half of season 3. Three-shot.
1. Chapter 1

We Build And We Break 

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Summary: Set after 3x15 'All My Children'. Three-shot. Elena attempts to repair her relationships with three very damaged and broken individuals.

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It wasn't until the morning that Elena realised why it was she felt so miserable. Her phone had remained silent all night. Even the barrage of messages which had come after she'd gotten back home had been somewhat cold and detached, even from people like Caroline, and she guessed the reason behind that was because people were probably fed up at this point making sure she was okay.

She remained in her bed, curled under the sheets, allowing the misery to consume her for a moment. She expected the radio silence from Damon, although he and Stefan had been the ones to save her from the tunnels, and she wasn't holding up much hope on Stefan being any more communicative either, but the fact Caroline seemed to be otherwise ignoring her hurt her a lot.

Alaric's relief at seeing her home safe last night did nothing to stifle the guilt she felt for being behind Bonnie's sudden loss, so after giving him a hug, she'd told him she felt unwell and was going to turn in early for bed. He'd accepted her explanation, and so she'd spent most of her nights thinking about all the ways she could try and help Bonnie, before realising her efforts were going to be futile anyway. Chances were Bonnie wasn't going to accept her help anyway.

She picked up her phone, thinking about messaging somebody - anybody - but the words she wanted to say wouldn't be able to be squeezed into a text, but they still bubbled and boiled inside her, and she knew if she didn't get a chance to say them soon, she was going to explode.

Bonnie wouldn't answer her phone, this she knew before she'd even tried to call her, but Elena still made the effort.

No answer.

Somehow the dialling tone just sounded grim and cold to her ears, almost like it was berating her for even trying to reach out to her grieving friend.

She tried Stefan next, but he was just as hard to reach, and Damon was just flat out ignoring her. She could tell. He always answered his phone, even when he was otherwise occupied, and now it seemed like he was harder to get through to than Bonnie. At some point she knew she would have to do some damage control where he was concerned, but right now he wasn't her main priority.

Flinging the covers off of her, Elena pushed herself out of bed, and proceeded to get showered and changed. It was still the weekend, so she had plenty of time to try and visit the people she'd hurt in some way. She wasn't sure how to go about it, but she knew she had to do something to repair the damage she'd involuntarily caused. If she hadn't confessed to Elijah that his mother was trying to kill him and his siblings, he wouldn't have needed to resort to such drastic measures to try and get Stefan and Damon to help him stop Esther, and Bonnie's mother wouldn't have been turned as a result of being caught in the crossfire.

It all came down to her, basically. Everything came back to her, and that was what she hated about her life. And because of what she was, and what she represented, a lot of people had been hurt and killed because of the people she'd involuntarily brought in all of their lives. She'd never be able to remedy that, but she could at least go someway into trying to build bridges with people like Bonnie, whose life had been filled with such substantial loss and heartache in the space of a short time.

Not that her own life hadn't been littered with loss, but Elena knew on some level her own guilt regarding her personal losses would always be with her, haunting her every step, and she'd made peace with the fact that that wasn't ever going to change. But what she could change was how people felt towards her; she could make progress and try and convince those caught in the crossfire that she was still worth holding on to as a friend. She was terrified that something would push her friends away forever, and somehow that loss would hurt the worst.

She tried calling Bonnie again, to no avail, and as she walked out of the house, she began to wonder whether the damage done was even reparable at this stage. With Alaric not being there when she'd walked downstairs, Elena found herself craving contact of any sort, so she phoned Jeremy.

To her relief, he answered on the first few rings.

"_Elena?"_

"Jer." She sighed, clutching the phone closer to her ear, as if aching to hold him in her arms. "How are you?"

_"Not too bad. Training Grayson some new tricks at the moment. That's my dog, by the way."_

_ "_You got a dog?" Elena smiled at that. "And you named him after Dad."

"_Too corny? It was Mrs Morgan's idea to get a dog - that's who I'm staying with, the Morgans - but I wasn't too sure about the idea. But he's beautiful. You would love him. He's loyal, affectionate, but he does bite. At least he can't help it when he bites though, so I should be thankful for that at least."_

Her smile widened at the same time tears sprung to her eyes.

"I'm glad you have a friend out there, Jer. He'll probably protect you better than I could back home."

_"Are you okay?" _Jeremy had picked up on her tone. _"You sound...upset."_

She debated whether to tell him the truth, but then remembered the whole point of sending him to Denver was to make sure he wasn't involved with her drama. She liked that he was out of the loop for the moment, and that he was free to live his life like a normal teenager, so it was out of the question for her to burden him with her problems.

"I'm fine," she lied. "I think I'm just catching a cold. That's all."

_"Oh. Well, you've fought off vampires, so I'm sure you can fight a cold...I've gotta go anyway. I'm late for meeting a friend. I'll talk to you soon though. Take care, 'Lena." _

_ "_You too," she said, trying to swallow back her emotion as she hung up on him.

She closed her eyes, trying to recall a moment when life hadn't been this hard, but she couldn't quite remember happier times at this precise moments. They became distorted, barely distinguishable against the veil of black which had blanketed her life. Life these days seemed to be all about surviving, and not really about living, which was why she tried to grasp every moment of happiness granted to her with both hands.

Sadly, though, happiness was a rare prize awarded, and it tended to completely miss the hands of her friends, and Elena was only really becoming aware of this. Caroline's words, though delivered softly, seemed to deliver this message home, her eyes saying that as much as she loved Elena, it did appear that people were getting hurt trying to protect her, and that sometimes all her appearance did was remind people of that fact. Caroline, in her own way, was trying to let Bonnie's mingled anger and devastation simmer down before Elena took the brunt of it, and Elena appreciated that.

She knew where her feet were taking her before she could even fully grasp what she was even doing. The route to Bonnie's house she'd memorised at the tender age of seven; this brought back memories of her skipping along the pavement, singing whatever song had floated into her head that day, and the memory of that lost innocence almost made her double over with nausea because she missed those days so much.

Elena took a deep breath, fully expecting Bonnie to be hostile on first appearance. As she approached the door however, delivering upon the wood a series of tentative knocks, she was surprised when Bonnie answered to see the life completely stripped from her friends' eyes.

"Elena," Bonnie stated, somewhat flatly, looking completely unsurprised to see her there. "Didn't Caroline - ?"

"I know she told me you didn't want to see me right now," Elena replied gently. "And I understand that. But I need to get a lot of things off my chest, and if I don't say them, I'm afraid I'll lose you forever."

Bonnie looked slightly curious by her words, but the spark of life that came with that died as instantly as it'd come. Her hair, which always used to appear as though it had a life of its own, so vibrant and buoyant did it appear, had clearly not been brushed, and yet there was still evidence that at least some effort had gone into making it halfway presentable, with strands of hair straying from the rest, the majority of it simply falling across her shoulders, as if it had no care as to which direction it fell.

"I need to help Abby with her transition. She took some blood last night, but she's been in and out of consciousness since then."

"How is she?" Elena ventured timidly.

"At first she freaked out, but when I told her being a vampire didn't have to change who she was, she came round," Bonnie informed her. "Was there anything else you needed?"

It wasn't the tone in Bonnie's voice that made Elena bristle; it was the way she'd phrased the question she'd asked, basically implying that Elena only came round when she needed something. It pained her because she knew there was a lot of truth in that. It was just sometimes hard to remember that just because she was a witch, it didn't mean Bonnie wasn't human also, that she was a girl that needed her friends and needed support and love to get her through any situation.

It made Elena even more determined to remind Bonnie that they could still have what they swore they'd always die to protect - that sisterly bond.

"I thought we could talk. Get some things out in the open," she said, giving Bonnie a gentle smile.

"I can't really talk right now," Bonnie reminded her.

"I know, but just give me an hour. One hour," Elena pleaded. "I know you hate me right now but -"

"Hate you?" Bonnie looked startled by the word. "I could never hate you, Elena."

"Then why wouldn't you let me be there for you last night?" Elena asked, some of her emotions leaking into her voice.

Bonnie struggled for a moment, two different answers clearly fighting to be revealed. There was probably a nice answer, and the brutally honest one. In the end, she came out with a mixture of both.

"I guess I'm just resigned to the fact that when it comes to you, I'm never gonna be anyone's first choice," she said, and she sounded resigned, which honestly was worse than the hatred Elena had imagined she would feel. "I will keep protecting you until the day I die, Elena, you know that. But it's just so much more different when other people get involved. Me, Caroline, Damon, Stefan... we know the risks. We know what we're getting involved with. We're prepared to go to whatever lengths we have to to protect you, but Abby... she wasn't. She wasn't a part of this, and maybe dragging her into this was partly my fault, but she shouldn't have been the one to have been turned." A pained look emerged. "It should've been me."

Elena had a lot she wanted to say; mostly she wanted to tell Bonnie to stop blaming herself, but she sensed that was an argument she wasn't going to win.

"One hour," she repeated, giving Bonnie a pleading look.

Bonnie sighed.

"One hour. But I'm not leaving Abby any longer than that."

Elena smiled gratefully.

"Come on. I know the perfect spot where we can talk."

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It was a perfect day outside. The sun was warm and inviting; the breeze was soft and gentle; the sky was a vivid blue, with barely a cloud resting in it.

Bonnie and Elena sat on a bench overlooking the Lockwood Manor. This was where they'd had their last heart to heart, and, honestly, Elena hoped the outcome was similar to the one they had had last time.

Bonnie gave her a small smile, but it was pained, and clearly forced.

"So... What did you want to say?"

Elena took a deep breath before she began.

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie. I'm sorry for what happened to Abby. I'm sorry I was stupid enough to tell Elijah everything," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't like being the one who gets held hostage all the time. I hate it. I hate the fact that because I'm a doppelganger, I'm always in danger. I hate watching everybody I care about suffer because of me." She took another deep breath. "But I have to say that I hated the way I was turned away from your house yesterday. I hate the way things have become between us. When did we get to the point where I couldn't even comfort my best friend because she didn't want me there? When did we become those people, Bonnie?"

Bonnie didn't react, but her fingers twitched by her sides, as if aching to join them with hers, to squeeze some reassurance towards her.

"You know I spent all last night trying to find the words to say to make everything all better," Elena continued, sounding bitter at this point. "And I couldn't. Because what can I say that'll change what has happened? Nothing. I just... I need my best friend back, Bonnie. And even though I know she has every right to be hurt and angry, it kills me that I can't be that girl you turn to to cry with. I want to be her again."

This time, Bonnie's fingers moved slightly towards her, but stopped, as if some other force had taken over, preventing her from making any kind of reconciliatory move.

"I get that, Elena," Bonnie spoke, sounding soothing but honest. "But to be honest, last night was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I don't hate you, Elena, but I think you're right that we've become different people. We're stronger, but weaker at the same time. When we lose people, it hurts that much more because we had the means to protect them and we failed. I can't even be angry with Damon and Stefan like I want to be, because they were protecting you." She sighed irritably. "I really want to hate them, Elena. And I do. But whenever they protect you, whenever they save you, I have to be grateful. And that sucks. I want different priorities sometimes. I know Abby abandoned me, but she's family, and sometimes when she smiles, I see the woman in the photographs, the woman who really loved me. Now that might be gone forever."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't." Bonnie sighed, pinching the ridge of her nose. "You don't have to apologise, Elena. What's done is done." She contemplated something for a moment, before adding, "You know, there are a lot of things to resent about the Salvatores, but when I first saw them - first touched them - I felt a presence of death. Do you remember that?"

Elena nodded.

"The more I thought about it, the more I realised why it made me so frightened to have that presence around. It was because I knew deep down, it would involve you, and even before I was a witch, I knew I had to protect you from it. That's why I was so cold to Stefan after we made contact. Damon... well, the reasons are self-explanatory really. His personality should be enough to make anyone wary." Bonnie gave another heavy sigh. "I don't resent the fact you're the centre of every problem Mystic Falls ever has. You can't help that. What I don't like so much is that you continue to hang around the Salvatores when I know they'll end up being the death of you."

Bonnie let that cold truth hang between them, something which stunned Elena into silence. She knew Bonnie's feelings on the Salvatore brothers, but what she'd just said had taken her breath away, for various reasons.

She'd only once come close to being a vampire, and that was as a result of an impulsive move on Damon's behalf to keep her alive. Elena couldn't help but wonder whether Bonnie would be still risking her life to protect her had that move ultimately been successful, because although Caroline was a vampire, she'd not been aware of the consequences of turning, so anything that had happened after that point couldn't really be judge. Elena knew everything, the highs and lows of vampirism, so she suspected the day she turned - through her choice, or otherwise, you never could predict the future especially in these dark and dangerous times - would be the day Bonnie would forsake her forever.

Elena swallowed at the thought.

Looking away, she tried to collect her thoughts, and she knew there was no way she would ever get Bonnie to reconcile with the Salvatores now. Not that she would ever have tried anyway, given what they'd both done to her - Damon, more than Stefan - but trying to explain how she kept getting drawn to both of them was harder than she thought, rather like trying to explain why a moth was always drawn to a flame.

"I know you'll never like them, Bonnie. Not after what they've done," she began. "But I can't shake them out of my life. Not like you want me to. They've both played a role in making me the person I am. Stefan gave me a distraction from the grief and guilt of my parents' deaths, and helped me find a reason to get out of the bed in the morning. And Damon..." She threw her arms helplessly in the air. "When Stefan was gone, he and I just...got closer."

"I don't like it," Bonnie stated flatly.

"I know."

"I don't even know what you want me to say, Elena. I'm never going to change my opinion on them. Damon could do the whole Christmas Carol thing, and become a new man overnight, and I still wouldn't like him. Stefan might be the lesser of two evils, but the fact he was a part of this changes a lot about the way I see him now."

Elena realised at that point she was probably steering the conversation in the wrong direction, and quickly backtracked.

"I know." She reached for Bonnie's hand, relieved when she didn't shake her off. "I'm not here to get you to forgive them. As far as I'm concerned, you have every right to hate them. They shouldn't have turned Abby just to save me."

"You know, I've tried putting myself in their situation, just to try and work out what was going through their minds when they did it," Bonnie cut across, grimacing at the thought. "And Caroline told me they at least tried to find another loophole before they went and turned Abby, but the way I see it, I think I would've tried to find another way, even if the first attempt at finding one failed. I mean, we've always found another way for everything, haven't we? We found a way of keeping you alive and human didn't we?"

"But we didn't save Jenna," Elena reminded her in a small voice.

Bonnie closed her eyes at the memory, and to Elena's surprise, the younger girl returned the affectionate squeeze between each other's hands. It was a gesture of comfort, of recognition at the losses they both had endured, and Elena felt herself touched by the gesture. By no means was it Bonnie telling her things would always be okay between them, but it was a start.

"You know, I think for what it's worth Jenna would've made it as a vampire," Bonnie offered, somewhat tentatively. "She was tough. Resilient. With Abby, I think we're gonna take things one day at a time, but I think with some help from me and Jamie, we'll be fine. Jamie's the closest thing she has to her humanity, so the more he's around, the better chance she has at getting herself through this."

Elena nodded, appreciating the subtle olive branch Bonnie was offering to smooth things over between them.

"I hope she doesn't leave you again. I don't want to see you abandoned again."

"If she does, I'll survive," Bonnie countered, jutting her chin out as if to emphasise that point. "I just... I want to be there for her, even though she wasn't there for me growing up. You may have lost your mom, Elena, but at least she was there for you when it counted." Tears sparkled in Bonnie's brown eyes unexpectedly. "I never got to do the whole mom bonding thing, and my dad - well, you know the story there. I really want to make this work with Abby, and I guess the only way I can do that now is by making her my priority." She locked eyes with Elena, and the meaning there was quite clear. "And...the only way I can do that is if we don't talk for a while."

"Bonnie, I..."

"I know you want to help." Bonnie gave her a small smile. "Believe me, I appreciate that. This is how you can help. Just...deal with your drama, and I'll deal with mine."

Elena gave her a broken smile in return, and the two girls shared an embrace. Holding on that little bit tighter, she wondered whether Bonnie had simply held back on saying what she really thought, because there were moments during Bonnie's speech when it almost looked like she was lost in a different world, a world which would never have Elena in it.

But as soon as that thought entered her mind, it was gone. The glow in Bonnie's eyes returned, and there was that warm feeling between them again, not quite fully restored, but present enough to convince her things would be okay with them again.

"If you need me," she began.

"I know where to find you," Bonnie answered, really trying to look okay. And for the most part, the act worked.

But the fact it was still an act spoke volumes about where their friendship stood, and what it what take to make everything even close to the way it had been before. Before, there had been absolutely no need to pretend with each other because they could see through the act within seconds, but nowadays they were both having to feed each other the smallest of lies just to keep themselves afloat in a sea of insanity. Emotions, morals...they all played the smallest of roles these days, if that, and that was simply because there were far bigger things to worry about, and moments like this seemed to bring home how much they were missed all the same.

"I should get back," Bonnie spoke, but she made no movement to leave.

She looked out, and Elena wondered if she was remembering simpler times too. It seemed all of their friends - themselves included - had had to grow up too fast, with all of them suffering losses that frequently threatened to cripple them. She couldn't say what really kept her going anymore, except perhaps Jeremy, and she took comfort in the fact he was in Denver, the only drama in his life now revolving around an entirely new set of faces. Maybe sending him away without his prior consent had done more emotional damage in the long run than perhaps predicted, but if it prolonged his life and kept him safe, this time around she was certain she could handle the inevitable hatred he would feel for her if and when he found out what she'd done.

"I'm glad we had this talk," Bonnie said, cutting across Elena's thoughts. "I know we'll never be on the same side when it comes to vampires, but maybe it's better that we aren't. I get to take down all the bad vampires, and you get to save the good. It's just a shame we don't both consider Damon a bad vampire so that I get to see him suffer for what he's done, but..." She shrugged. "Maybe life will do that for me. As long as Stefan's around, he'll never have what he really wants...you. I think I can take that victory for now."

And with that frosty closing remark, Bonnie rose to her feet and walked away without giving Elena a parting look, leaving the latter girl to stare at her hands, feeling a combined rush of guilt and frustration that the undeniable truth which continued to gnaw at her continued to elude her friends' knowledge and, to an extent, her own.

How could she ever expect there to be a good time to tell Bonnie that there was the slightest of chances she was falling for Damon?

There would never be a good time, and last night had forever cemented that fact. And she didn't know what the worst part was, the fact that there were some things she could never open up about to Bonnie, of all people, and vice versa, or the fact that the despicable act Damon had committed last night had done nothing to change her feelings towards him.

It was then Elena realised this conversation with Bonnie had, somehow, made her feel even worse than before, which told her two things.

One, the real damage between them lay in her relationship with the Salvatores, which Bonnie had stressed before, but which she seemed unwilling to change; and two, she'd gotten in too deep with Damon while Stefan had been out of town, because she was pretty sure if the affection she felt for him only went skin deep, she'd have had no problem erasing it, but the affection clung to her skin and had somehow infused with her bloodstream. It was a part of her, for better or for worse, and until she could deal with that and find a way to push past it, at some point in her life there would have to be a decision made, not just between Damon and Stefan but between the Salvatores and her friends, and she was terrified of making the wrong one...in both cases.

And until she made one - in both cases - she feared she'd end up pushing everyone she loved away, until she became cold and detached, like Rebekah seemed to be, a shadow of who Isobel had been towards the end, and she wouldn't be able to blame that on vampirism.

And it dawned on Elena that the real reason she hated all the Katherine comparisons was because she saw herself becoming exactly like her...without turning of course. Katherine used and manipulated people, she played on their vulnerabilities and tossed them to the vultures when things got rough, and despite the fact she continued to survive, she was doomed to be alone forever.

Now she might not quite be exactly like Katherine yet, but the fact little similarities were starting to build up terrified Elena, and she knew she had to start building bridges before she ended up burning them with her own hands.

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**A/n: This will be a three-shot. I have the other two written already but I'm posting it just to see the kind of response it gets. I tried to keep Bonnie and Elena in character without letting my feelings on the episode it references show. For the record, I get why Bonnie shut Elena out, but I didn't like it. I didn't like it when she did that in season one after Elena had met with Isobel either, but at the same time, I get why Bonnie tries to detach herself from Elena's drama to concentrate on her own. That's my opinion though. This was my way of correcting an episode which, on paper, sounded good, but just was really disappointing, although I loved the Originals in it. :) The next chapter will surprise you regarding who Elena makes amends with, but I'm quite proud of how I've written it, so review and thou shalt receive, probably tomorrow if I have some spare time :)**


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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In the Mystic Grill, Elena brooded over a hot chocolate, her eyes occasionally wandering around the room, spotting the odd cluster of friends which stirred some age old emotion inside of her into existence. It reminded her of a different time, a different part of her life, and though to some extent moments like this existed in her world, it was either usually to commemorate a fallen friend, scheme up another way of getting rid of a common enemy, or just a way of reminding each other that they still had teenage lives to live.

Damon was perhaps the next person she should've sought out to fix her damaged relationship with him, but somehow she found herself hesitant to do so, wondering if trying to apologise for her harsh words would do any good. He would probably come back with some snarky remark, a barely subtle dig at her, and she wasn't in the mood for that, even if on some level she did deserve it. Damon was a big boy, at the end of the day, and if he couldn't handle her own misgivings, why should she even try to handle his?

"Aw, all alone today are we?" came the silky tone of a cold Original she'd become too familiar with as of late. "No friends left to stab in the back, have we?"

Elena raised her eyes to present Rebekah with a scathing glance.

"I needed some time to think. To recover," she threw back at her. "So why don't you stop stalking me, and get some friends of your own, huh?"

Rebekah smiled coldly.

"Who says I'm stalking you? Maybe I'm here to get a drink. Socialise. Honestly, Elena, talk about being self-absorbed..."

"A topic I'm sure you know all about," Elena fired, infuriated by how casually Rebekah could just stroll in here, acting like she owned the place.

"Like I said before, the tough act doesn't suit you," Rebekah sneered.

To Elena's fury, the Original slid into the seat opposite her, resting her chin against her hands as she inspected the girl she'd taken captive only hours ago.

"What are you doing?" Elena inquired, trying not to let her frustration show.

The last thing she needed to do was say or do anything which could set Rebekah off, because despite what she'd said about wanting to see her suffer, Elena wouldn't put it past her to ignore that at the drop of a hat if she said the wrong thing.

"You know what they say, Elena; keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer," Rebekah responded with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Plus I thought I'd try and see what it is that has my brother so charmed by you because, I'll be honest, I don't see it. All I see is a conniving, two-faced, annoyingly moralistic little brat who has everyone wrapped around her little finger."

Elena lowered her head, inwardly trying not scream.

"So, how is Bonnie today?" Rebekah inquired. "Must be a double blow to her knowing not only did the Salvatores turn her mother, but that they did it to save you."

This comment caused Elena's head to shoot up, a mixture of pain and anger blooming in the corners of her eyes. Rebekah somehow knew exactly which buttons to push to get a reaction out of her, and it irritated her that she couldn't do the same, which was when an odd memory suddenly came to surface.

Back in her glory days as a cheerleader, Elena had once come storming in, fuming over a Caroline wannabe who'd made no mistake about the fact she hadn't liked her at all. In fact, it had escalated to the point where the girl had been borderline bullying her, and she'd done it in such a tactile way that nobody could prove she was responsible for her actions.

_"What do I do, Mom? She's spreading all these vicious lies about me, and I don't get what I've done to make her hate me so much," _she'd fumed to her mother.

_"Sometimes you don't have to do anything to make a person react to you with such intense dislike," _her mother had responded patiently. _"Some people just let their own insecurities blind their judgement when it comes to other people. This girl might be jealous of your successess. Do you know how to stop someone like that? You kill them with kindness. Don't give her a legitimate reason to hate you. Be the sunshine girl in everybody's sky and she'll soon find these nasty rumours have no leg to stand on. You could even reach out to her. She might respect you for trying."_

_ "Or she could laugh in my face."_

_ "Maybe. But we all want to be treated the same, Elena. We all want to know we're being seen. Maybe this is how this girl tries to make herself known - by lashing out in the only way she can."_

It dawned on Elena that even though Rebekah had good reason to hate her, without this particular cause to draw attention to, she would otherwise have faded into the background, because nobody exactly trusted or liked her enough to give her the time of day otherwise. So Rebekah kept up this relentless verbal assault because it was the best way to be heard and, at the same time, a way of venting her frustrations out on who she felt was the right target to aim at.

"Yeah, maybe it is," she commented, finding acquiescing with Rebekah threw the Original off guard. "I'm sure she's feeling just as hurt as you felt when you realised I was only pretending to be your friend."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, instantly sensing where this was going.

"I don't want a pity party, Elena. We're not doing this cute little thing where you pretend to be sorry for what you've done just to get me off your back."

Elena levelled her gaze with Rebekah.

"Given the damage Klaus has done to my family, I'm sure you can imagine why I was not willing to take any chances when it came to destroying him. I thought you were a liability because he was your brother."

Rebekah snorted.

"He's taken _every_ moment of _happiness _from me. He killed our mother. At that moment, I was fully prepared to end his miserable existence rather than let him go on breathing his lies all around me. Why are you so sure I wouldn't have been able to see your miserable plan through to its conclusion?"

"Because he's your brother," Elena said simply. "And you value that even if you hate him. Even if Jeremy committed the same crimes your brother has, I can't imagine a scenario where I could be responsible for taking him down. It hurts me to even imagine that possibility. I know I shouldn't have done what I done, but I was trying to make sure I got justice for the people Klaus has killed over the years." She stirred her hot chocolate, surprised Rebekah was hanging onto her every word, surprised her mother's theory was panning out to be a correct one. "I'd heard about Katherine's story; I knew she was punished for running away by having her entire family killed by Klaus, who needed her for the sacrifice ritual. When I heard the stories, I knew I couldn't run. I couldn't let my family pay the price for my continued survival. I thought if I stayed put, he wouldn't endanger my family, but he took Jenna, my aunt and guardian, and he turned her. Staked her in front of me. I will never get that moment out of my head ever again. And if that wasn't bad enough, he took Stefan out of town, forced him to return to his ripper days, killed Tyler to make him a hybrid, and used one of his hybrids to run Alaric over as punishment for not getting answers as to where Stefan was with his coffins. I have just as much reason to want him dead as you do, but the problem will always be the fact you value your family just as much as I do mine."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes so that they were reduced to mere slits.

"What a fascinating insight into your character." She gave a mock yawn. "But that still doesn't give you the right to preach morality when it suits you, and then on occasions where what you do floats in a suitably grey area give yourself a free pass to do whatever the hell you like."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I am a hypocrite sometimes." Elena gave her a steeled look. "But circumstances have made us both into people we never wanted to be. I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot, you would've done exactly the same as me if you knew getting justice hinged on everything falling exactly to plan."

"Perhaps," Rebekah begrudgingly admitted. "But I can't help but wonder whether any of the nice act was real, or whether it was just all lies."

"That was what hurt you the most?" Elena let her charade slip a little. "The fact that I pretended to be friends with you, only to stab you in the back the moment your guard was down?"

"What can I say? It seems like trusting people who later turn out to be liars and manipulative little shrews is what seems to commonly occur to me. Perhaps the blame lies with me for thinking for one moment any sort of kindness coming from the Petrova line could be genuine."

Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't going to get very far with Rebekah, that much was clear, but she couldn't sustain this kind of tumultuous relationship with her because sooner or later it was going to end very badly for one of them - and it didn't take a genius to work out which one that was most likely to be.

She pursed her lips, trying to figure out a different angle to pursue. She tried to look at the facts; Rebekah had chosen to sit here with her, and so far despite the fact they remained cold towards each other, she hadn't moved. Now that could've been chalked up to the fact that the Original vampire simply enjoyed tormenting her, but Elena figured that since she had no other friends here, she was simply drawn to the familiar, even if that sense of familiarity was centered around a sense of hatred and betrayal. The undeniable fact was that Rebekah, on some level, just had no other relationships to pursue - or, in this case, degrade even further - what with Stefan's lack of interest, and Damon being Damon and simply using her as a means to an end. Even her own brothers weren't interested in maintaining contact with her, and Elena couldn't help feeling a stab of pity at her situation.

"It was real," Elena eventually conceded, avoiding Rebekah's eyes. "I liked the fact you were all excited for your first dance, and I liked the fact you could be honest with me about Klaus. But you can't honestly tell me that there wasn't the smallest part of you that considered warning him, to save his life, even after learning he was the one who killed your mother."

It was Rebekah's turn to avert her eyes, the answer blooming in the corners like little blossoms of truth. It couldn't have been easy for her to admit there was the chance her nemesis could possibly have been right, but a tight nod of consent seemed to create a momentary atmosphere of feigned equilibrium... and that, for Elena, was enough for the moment.

"For the record, I'm sorry for what I had to do. So much rested on this plan working, and you were a liability. I had to do what I had to do. I'm sure you can relate to that, given the fact you and your brother were on the run from your father for centuries, can't you?"

Rebekah gave her a cold look.

"Maybe," she reluctantly conceded. "But I still don't like you."

"You don't have to like me," Elena sighed. "You just have to stay the hell away."

Tapping her fingers irritably against the table, Rebekah turned her head, and almost looked like she was about to leave. It was hard to fathom what was going on through her head, but the fact that Elena remained alive, and in one piece, could only be a good thing; it meant she hadn't provoked her into an impulsive - and violent - course of action.

"I don't have friends here," the Original eventually forced out, her mouth scrunched up into a frown, displaying her hatred of admitting that fact aloud. "I never expected any of _your_ lot to warm to me, but still. I'd been in a coffin for ninety years. I woke up to an entirely new age, one which I must say is entirely distasteful, what with your vulgar and loud music, and the clothes that reveal entirely too much for my liking. In the 20s, I was entirely prepared to abandon my brother to pursue a life with Stefan, but, well, Nick saw an end to that." She lowered her eyes, briefly allowing a display of vulnerability to emerge, like the faintest of shadows crossing paths with the sun. "I guess the point is that I don't know how to be someone here. Not yet anyway."

Elena blinked, surprised at this display of honesty from Rebekah - surprised, and, well, a little suspicious. She found honest moments were usually followed by moments of violence, and she wondered why she'd become her confidante all of a sudden. A few words of honesty from her hardly merited a good enough reason for her enemy to suddenly give her some back, so she sat back, examining her with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I guess that's one upside of being woken up from a coffin after ninety years," she offered tentatively. "You can start over. Be whoever you want to be."

"Not as long as my brother is around." Rebekah pursed her lips together. "But since, like everyone else, his plans tend to revolve around how best to keep you alive and human, I guess it gives me chance to start over." She suddenly narrowed her eyes, as if a dark thought had crossed her mind. "Why are you being nice anyway? I kept you captive, threatened to set you on fire, yet you continue to speak to me with a civil tongue. I'm not offering you a free pass to be a bitch - that's my role anyway - but even after everything I've done, you still try and understand me, even apologise for your part in this feud between us. Why?"

Elena locked her eyes with Rebekah's, deciding against divulging a personal memory because, well, it was personal, and she wasn't ready to open herself up to an Original, of all people, about that part of her life.

"I'm trying to build bridges with people, not burn them," she said slowly. "I don't think we'll ever like each other, but I'd rather keep the peace with you then continue with this petty war we have going on. I just... I'm fighting too hard to hold on to the people I love, and the last thing I need taking up my time is you trying to find ways to break me so you can watch me suffer." She closed her eyes, resting her head against her hands, just because this conversation was draining her. "Hate me all you want, Rebekah. I'm not saying you don't have the right to. I just don't want it to escalate to the point where my friends and family all suffer because of it."

"No, I'm sure you have enough to feel guilty enough about without me adding to it." Rebekah gave her a cold smile. "But perhaps you're right. When you prove to be a real challenge to me, maybe I'll consider taking you on again, but all you are right now is a pathetic, broken little girl looking for a chance to redeem herself."

"Not unlike you then," Elena shot back, and the quickness of the remark caught Rebekah off guard.

It took her a moment to respond, and even then she didn't sound angry when she responded.

"No," she said calmly. "Not unlike me, I guess. But don't go looking for qualities in me similar to you so we can bond. I'm not saying today hasn't been...enlightening, but I don't forgive and forget as easily as you."

"You seem to have forgiven your brother for what he did to you."

"Grudges tend to appear futile to hold when your own mother tries to kill you," Rebekah snapped, but there was a weary edge to her tone, as if she was tired of having that particular truth spoken aloud. "I won't ever trust him again. I can't ever trust him again." Her eyes darkened, pooling with an unfathomable emotion. "But you were right in one thing. No matter what he does, or how he acts, or who he hurts, he will always be my brother. I will always stand by him." She stood up, presenting Elena with a final scathing glance. "You'll do well to remember that. I'll call it quits with you for now, but mark my words, if a day comes when you all come gunning for my brother, yours is the first head that'll roll." She smirked. "Just so we're clear."

Elena didn't respond.

She just watched as the vampire swarmed out of the bar, unsure whether the queasy feeling in her stomach was down to a sense of foreboding she couldn't quite explain, even to herself, or because of the fact she knew that despite the nature of their conversation, she hadn't repaired her relationship with Rebekah at all, although perhaps they'd reached an understanding of sorts about their individual motives.

She finished her drink, echoing Rebekah's movements, but as she went to leave, she found Matt's eyes, and by his confused expression, she guessed he was speculating about what had gone on between them.

She inclined her head, to signal everything was okay, and that he shouldn't worry, but he still looked anxious. Matt would always worry about her, and she loved that about him, but sometimes she worried about the reasons why he worried about her, whether any remnants of the love he'd felt for her still remained or not, even after he'd fallen for Caroline.

The last thing she needed was another competitor for her heart, although Stefan seemed distant with her, and Damon was just...Damon, and to be honest, she was starting to miss the Elena who'd been single and free, because this Elena had no clue about where she was in life, and what it was she wanted. At times, the safety of Matt's love still called out to her, but that was rivalled with the desire she felt for the passion Damon could provide, and the strong echoes of the love and connection she had had with Stefan.

Maybe Rebekah was right.

Maybe she was a hypocrite, defending her own actions when it suited her, and then denouncing others for the same crime.

Elena felt a sudden strong aching pang for her parents. Her mother always delivered the best advice, and her father would always give the best hugs for comfort. Maybe they wouldn't approve of what she'd done, or who she'd become, but they would've tried to understand, and that was what really mattered.

Now she just needed to get Damon to understand it wasn't okay to control all of her choices, that of course she would make mistakes and that she needed him to be there when they went wrong, but otherwise he needed to let her be free, and that's why she'd retaliated with such harsh words when he'd snapped at her for sneaking off to see Esther behind his back.

But, from his frosty silence, she suspected that was going to be a task easier said than done.

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**A/n: Thank you guys for all your love and reviews :) Appreciate it. Yes, next chapter will be Damon/Elena, but I'm writing them as friends, so even if you hate Delena, it's still worth a read. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the first :) **


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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The sight of the Salvatore Boarding House usually evoked a variety of emotions from her, but today all it made Elena feel was stressed. Usually there was at least one Salvatore who could be reasoned with, but both at the moment seemed equally as frustrating to interact with, and so she had to prepare herself for facing both.

She gave the door a sharp knock, folding her arms close to her chest, a bitter wind brushing past her, giving her olive skin a white tinge to it. She suspected, however, that the white hue of her skin was due to a combination of the cold and the stress, not just relying on the one factor, but since she had to put aside all thoughts about herself, she ignored that feeling, instinctively inhaling sharply when the door opened to reveal Damon, who gave her a once over, his face revealing nothing about his current mood.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hey," he replied, a hint of wariness colouring his features.

"Can we talk?"

He opened the door wordlessly, and she swarmed inside. She got the feeling although he wasn't outwardly hostile, he still wasn't quite over her remark at the ball, but the showdown with Elijah had probably deflated some of his anger. Either way, she knew she had to tread lightly where he was concerned; push the wrong buttons, and Damon was like a bomb, liable to explode and cause a mess that everyone else would inevitably have to clean up.

"What's up?" Damon asked, reaching instinctively for a glass and a decanter.

She took a deep breath.

"I need to clear the air between us."

"Why? Is it thick with sexual tension?" he smirked.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"What I said at the ball...I didn't mean it."

"I know." Damon downed his newly poured drink, before starting another. "There. I saved you one half-hearted apology."

She frowned.

"Half-hearted? Damon...I'm sorry for what I said. I mean it. I didn't mean to throw your feelings back in your face..."

"I get it, Elena," he said snappishly.

"Do you?" She gestured helplessly. "Because it seems like you've shut me out. Sleeping with Rebekah was just..."

"I _knew_ that bothered you," he said triumphantly. "But did you really have to tell every Tom, Dick and Harry in the entire town? Aren't we above such petty things?"

She averted her eyes.

"I know I didn't have to do that. But it just made me angry that you could sleep with her after she tried to kill me. Putting aside the fact you're prone to doing self-destructive things after people hurt you, you should still have registered the fact that she wants me dead before sticking your tongue down her throat."

Damon's grin widened at that.

"My, my. I don't know what I'm enjoying more, the fact you're clearly jealous, or the fact that you could think that every part of my life has to revolve around you in some way."

Elena fought the urge to slap him after that remark. Other than basically mirroring what Rebekah had said to her, he was being infuriatingly blasé about the entire situation. He didn't take it seriously, that was the problem. She could see in his cerulean eyes that he was amused by her anger, and so she reigned it in by taking deep, calm breaths.

"I didn't come here to attack you for sleeping with Rebekah. You can do whatever you want. I can't stop you."

"Glad we got that straightened out."

She looked imploringly at him.

"Why can't you ever just admit when you're hurt, Damon? Lashing out just gives people another reason to make you the villain."

"What can I say, Elena? The villain is the role I play best," he said smarmily. "I tried being the hero. Guess what? It didn't work. When I do good, it doesn't make a difference. When I do bad? People take notice."

"Yeah, and then they hate you for it," she pointed out.

He pursed his lips at that, irritation beginning to creep into view. She could tell by the way he pushed his eyebrows together, and the way his trademark smirk seemed to devolve into a frown that both displayed his vulnerabilities and protected himself from feeling too much.

"I just..." She threw her arms up in the air helplessly. "I can't fight with you, Damon. I don't know what to do or say to make you see that I didn't mean what I said at the ball, only that you'll pretend to accept my apology to make me go away before drinking yourself into oblivion just to stop yourself from dealing with whatever emotions you're currently feeling."

"Just so you know, figuring me out is a Katherine move," he said spitefully. "I wouldn't go into your analysis too deep, just in case I forget who I'm talking to."

She recoiled at that, but brushed away the hurt, realising she wasn't exactly going to get Damon to admit or accept anything at this point. He was always a pain in the ass when it came to accepting apologies, and he was definitely stubborn as hell when it came to trying to get him to make some sort of personal development. He would always end up doing that on his own, so really this whole conversation was pointless.

But Elena Gilbert was someone who tried. Did she make mistakes? Of course. She didn't always say or do the right thing, but she was only human. Eighteen years worth of life experience wasn't quite enough time to shape her into a person capable of making the right decisions every single time, but she was learning. Guilt came at her from all sides these days, and, to counter it, all she could do was attempt to mend the broken relationships she now had, although admittedly talking to Rebekah hadn't been planned. She'd just aimed to avoid her until the end of time, which probably had been wishful thinking on her part.

"Damon, don't shut me out," she pleaded, her voice soft and tender.

She almost saw a flicker of something close to affection in his eyes, but he promptly made it dissolve before she could prey on it.

"I'm glad you're okay, Elena, but I can't really do this right now," he said shortly, his tone indicating it was best if she left right now.

She bit her lip, shaking her head, wishing it was easier to get through to him. Then again, maybe it was better to leave him now while he was in a volatile mood. When Damon was like this, it wasn't clear to her just what he was capable of doing, and she didn't want to risk pushing him into doing something impulsive and stupid just because she wanted what they'd spent all summer building together back.

"I'll go," she spoke, heading towards the door, turning back just to add, "but just so you know, even if I don't know what I feel yet, I appreciate all you've ever done for me. You kept me alive this summer, kept me smiling, kept me feeling. Thank you for that." She paused, clearly fighting a surprise attack of conscience, before adding, "I wish I hadn't made it sound like I don't appreciate any of it. I guess I'm making a habit of demanding too much from my friends as of late."

And she left, missing the look on Damon's face entirely, which was a mixture of confusion and pleasant surprise.

Maybe if she'd seen it, it wouldn't have left her feeling doubtful about everything, because if ever there'd been a moment when Damon's humanity had been clearly visible, that had been the moment.

After getting to know him, she'd never doubted his humanity was there, but the fact he constantly fought it was always that one reason to hold back when it came to him. Stefan was a different story; he embraced his humanity, but the problem with that was that it meant he embraced feeling everything, the guilt, the pain, anger, grief, and the strain of doing so meant when he was pushed back into being the ripper again, he fell into that role with open arms.

That would always be the fundamental difference between Damon and Stefan. One of them always fought his humanity, whereas the other would embrace it to the point where doing so nearly destroyed him entirely.

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Spending most of the day with Caroline, Elena found herself strangely enjoying the strange armistice that had formed between them and the Originals, who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from the public eye after their mother's attempt at ending their lives. She thrived on the peace, even if it was mostly spent thinking about everything bad that had ever happened within the confinements of Mystic Falls.

"You're brooding," Caroline noted critically. "It's totally putting a downpour on girl time."

"Bonnie's not here," Elena pointed out. "Girl time isn't the same without her."

"I know, but she's got a good excuse for bailing on us," Caroline returned gently. "When she's ready to come back, she will. Just...give her time."

Elena nodded, but fell into another brooding silence. She raised her eyes just in time to watch Damon saunter in to the Mystic Grill, his purpose for being here instantly made clear by the fact he headed straight for the bar.

"Uh-uh. You're not doing that," Caroline immediately scolded.

Elena blinked, startled.

"Doing what?"

"Damon-watching. It's not healthy," Caroline elaborated, shaking her head. "He's done too much damage to be the subject of anyone's desire, least of all yours."

"Caroline..."

"No guy talk," Caroline said firmly. "No Stefan talk. No Damon talk. I don't even want to hear Jeremy's name leave your lips. Got it?"

She couldn't help but smile.

"Got it, Captain Caroline," she agreed, giving her a mock salute.

"Hey, I might act like a dictator, but believe you me, being a vampire has made me gone soft," Caroline protested, smiling despite herself. "If I was still human, I'd be a lot more gung-ho about making sure you stay the hell away from guys like Damon."

"No, you wouldn't. You'd be constantly drooling over how hot he was," Elena joked. "Regardless of the fact you know more about his dark side than I do."

"Good looks don't make up for a sour personality," Caroline said wisely.

Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing Caroline was only saying this to protect her from any more hurt. She appreciated it, but honestly she'd gone past the point of no return when it came to the Salvatores. They were a part of her life now. Maybe on some level her life would've been better without them, but she couldn't imagine them out of Mystic Falls anymore than she could envision herself without a nose.

She glanced at Damon again, surprised to find his eyes were on her. A degree of warmth inhabited his eyes, but his lips remained pressed into a firm line. They locked eyes for the briefest of moments, and she was almost waiting for something to give when he broke gaze to greet Alaric.

Elena hurriedly averted her eyes, and luckily Caroline had been too busy rooting through her bag to notice her momentary mental absence from their girl time.

"Damn it," Caroline grumbled. "I left my purse at home. So much for going shopping later on."

"I'll get the bill here if you want to go back home and get it," Elena offered.

"Would you?" Caroline looked grateful. "Thanks. I just can_not _believe I left something like that at home. I guess it's all the worrying about Bonnie that's got me all..." She struggled to find the word. "_Gah_. Ever have one of those days when you can't think straight, like, _at all."_

"Yep. Pretty much been every day since my parents died," Elena replied solemnly. "Made bad decision after bad decision since then."

"What about the decision to save me from the wrath of Dem - I mean," she coughed playfully, "Damon? You know...back when he thought staking me was the better option than letting me be a vampire?"

"Okay. One good decision," Elena said, smiling broadly.

"And I know I said no guy talk, and I'm still not picking sides - except, well, kind of - but I think letting Stefan into your life was a good decision too," Caroline continued, rising to her feet. "Can't let bad decisions cloud your judgement, Elena. My worst decision was letting guys tell me what to do. You learn from them. Move forward."

"Is that pearl of wisdom in the Caroline Forbes handbook, which is never to be read by any guy whatsoever?" Elena teased, retrieving her own purse to pay the bill.

"Absolutely," Caroline grinned. "It's in between 'If a guy says "let's see other people", it means he already is, and 'never judge a book by its cover...unless it's like a really, really, really obvious cover.'"

Elena laughed, waving Caroline out of the bar, before settling back into her seat, fishing out dollars from her purse to pay the bill. She looked up, blinking in surprise as Damon sat opposite her, tilting his head to one side, examining her.

"Hey."

"Hey," she returned, somewhat warily. "Thought you were with Ric?"

"Didn't know my day time activities, as well as my night time activities, interested you so much."

She flushed.

"They don't," she was quick to put in, but he didn't look convinced.

"Barbie seemed to have a lot to say on me today," he spoke, his mouth twisting into an expression which could either have been a grimace or a look of amusement, it was hard to tell.

"Well, she's obviously pissed at you for what you did to Bonnie," Elena told him. "And can you blame her?"

"I can blame Barbie for a lot of things. This...not so much, I'll give you that." He scrutinised her carefully. "What's your opinion on it all?"

"I think there's more to the story than either you or Stefan are letting on, but since you're not willing to tell, I'm just going to have to settle with being mad at what you've done, but at the same time understanding we have bigger issues to concentrate on at the moment."

Damon nodded, accepting that answer for the moment.

"So what made you come over to apologise today?" He gave a lopsided grin. "You're not dying or anything, are you?"

"Believe it or not, Damon, you don't have to be dying to be motivated into setting things right with someone," she hissed. "You think I like being the reason you and Stefan had to team up and turn Abby? You think I like the fact that Bonnie looks at me differently now?" She let a fistful of coins trickle from her hand to the table. "I don't."

"Easy, Elena." He let out a low chuckle. "Leave the self-loathing to my brother, won't you? He does it _so _much better. It's insufferable."

She raised her eyes, meeting his. He stared at her, and it was in a completely different way to how he'd looked at her this morning. It was the way he'd always looked at her, like she was the only one he could see, the only one he even wanted to see.

She gave him a nervous smile.

"I'm tired of being the one in danger all the time, Damon. I want to be stronger. Tougher. I don't want to be the one needing to be rescued. I want to be the one doing the rescuing." She shook her head vehemently. "Actually, screw that. I want there to be no situations which require anybody being rescued whatsoever. I want to be a good friend again. I try but..." She looked helplessly at him. "Sometimes I forget how to be."

"I know that," Damon said. "Everyone knows that. Even Bonnie."

She nodded, looking down at her hands.

"I'm scared that you might be right. That one day I'll look in the mirror and see her. Katherine. I'm scared of losing who I am."

He held her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

"I didn't mean to compare you to Katherine. Should've figured that was a sensitive subject for you. It just kind of...came out."

She nodded, letting the smallest of smug smiles grace her lips.

"Exactly. You can't help saying bad things sometimes to the people you care about. If you don't hold what I said at the ball over me, I won't hold that Katherine comment over you."

He gave an exasperated groan and nodded.

"Fine. I forgive you – for real. Is that what you wanted me to say?!"

She pursed her lips, contemplating the matter for just the briefest of moments.

"Not really. There's gotta be some truth to what we say, otherwise why say it in the first place? You really do think I share some tendencies with Katherine, and I really do think the way you feel about me can be a little suffocating sometimes."

Damon's smirk dropped from his face, and they stared at each other, expressionless. An awkward pause followed her remark, but it wasn't something they were unused to at this point.

"I won't ever stop feeling the way I feel about you, Elena," he said eventually. "And I won't ever stop trying to save your life, even if you hate the methods for doing so. So I'd get used to it if I were you." He rose to his feet, pausing before leaving to add, "But don't be Katherine. It's bad enough the world has one of her without there being another. You're better than her." The merest hint of emotion played on his face as he then said, "You're better than me too."

And he walked fluently away, leaving her staring after him, utterly at a loss for words, unaware he'd completely taken her breath away at that moment until she expelled one, and realised she felt quite liberated by it.

She stared after him vacantly, her heart pounding in her chest for no properly explained reason.

Since when did Damon become the guy who made her heart skip a worrying amount of beats? He could drive your stress levels up to the maximum one moment, and the next, he would find a way to completely shatter your expectations of him. He was always changing, sometimes progressing, most of the time digressing, and it seemed like every side of him she saw revealed a new aspect to his personality. It scared her.

How could someone be so unpredictable, yet the way they made you feel was similar to the feeling you got after knowing someone a long, long time? It was crazy. Damon was once the guy she held in the utmost contempt, the guy who tormented his so-called loved ones - namely Stefan - and who didn't give a damn about who he hurt or what the consequences to his actions were.

In some ways, that Damon still existed. According to Bonnie, he hadn't shown any hesitation or remorse at snapping Abby's neck, and he'd not apologised to her about it, but no one was expecting him to. He did his own thing, occasionally taking the time to save a life rather than taking one, but he coveted the role of villain because that was all he felt he would ever be good at being.

She'd tried to convince him otherwise, but when had that gotten her anywhere?

The old Damon still continued to thrive and survive, and she saw glimpses of him occasionally, but the main difference between who he'd been when she'd first known his true identity, and who he was now was that he seemed to apply a set of rules to her that didn't apply to anyone else. He saved her, in every way possible, and had been there for her all summer when he could've claimed her for his own at any moment. He possessed the strength and the skills to do so, and yet he'd helped her try and track down Stefan - admittedly not without the odd snarky comment thrown in for good measure - keeping her alive and awake, even when Stefan's absence had threatened to consume her.

Elena had to believe Damon would always have that human side to him. It was his strongest redeeming quality.

If only he would let it shine more.

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**A/n: And thus concludes this three shot. Thank you for taking the time to read and review. :) This chapter wasn't quite as angsty as I made it out to be lol, but I tried to keep to how the show portrays Damon and Elena's interactions - with the merest hint of bitterness exchanged after a fight, but otherwise remaining close knit, and almost tender towards one another.**


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